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published by
the NASA Johnson Space Center: Astromaterials Research Office

This is a set of 17 inquiry-based lessons on Earth's moon: its properties, formation, and geological history. Designed for use in middle school, the lessons are organized into three units: 1) Pre-Apollo, 2) Learning from Apollo, and 3) The future of lunar exploration. Activities were developed to provide concrete experiences and models. For example, one lesson explores lunar surface formation by using crumbled toast and Oreo cookie crumbs. Another uses marbles, ball bearings, and golf balls to model impact cratering.

Educators who complete a cost-free certification process with NASA may have use of a Lunar Sample Disk and accompanying slide show for classroom use.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this resource was created, scientists have discovered compelling evidence of the presence of water at the Moon's polar regions. See Related Materials for more on this topic.

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Standards (5)

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

1B. Scientific Inquiry

9-12: 1B/H3. Sometimes, scientists can control conditions in order to obtain evidence. When that is not possible, practical, or ethical, they try to observe as wide a range of natural occurrences as possible to discern patterns.

4. The Physical Setting

4G. Forces of Nature

6-8: 4G/M1. Every object exerts gravitational force on every other object. The force depends on how much mass the objects have and on how far apart they are. The force is hard to detect unless at least one of the objects has a lot of mass.

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (1993 Version)

1. THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

B. Scientific Inquiry

1B (6-8) #4. New ideas in science sometimes spring from unexpected findings, and they usually lead to new investigations.

2. THE NATURE OF MATHEMATICS

C. Mathematical Inquiry

2C (6-8) #2. When mathematicians use logical rules to work with representations of things, the results may or may not be valid for the things themselves. Using mathematics to solve a problem requires choosing what mathematics to use; probably making some simplifying assumptions, estimates, or approximations; doing computations; and then checking to see whether the answer makes sense. If an answer does not seem to make enough sense for its intended purpose, then any of these steps might have been inappropriate.

4. THE PHYSICAL SETTING

B. The Earth

4B (6-8) #6. Climates have sometimes changed abruptly in the past as a result of changes in the earth's crust, such as volcanic eruptions or impacts of huge rocks from space. Even relatively small changes in atmospheric or ocean content can have widespread effects on climate if the change lasts long enough.

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